Cung Le Suspension lifted

[Mr. IWS]

who cares?

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has rescinded Cung Le’s year-long suspension.

A post-fight drug test following Le’s loss to Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night in Macau on Aug. 23 revealed that Le tested positive for an excess level of HGH. Le was initially handed a nine-month suspension, but the UFC later updated that term to 12 months. The middleweight was also required to pass a drug screening before he could compete in the Octagon again.


Shortly thereafter, Le released a statement disputing the results and questioning the testing procedures utilized by the UFC, which performed the tests because China has no athletic commission to oversee the event.


The 42-year-old Strikeforce veteran planned to appeal the suspension. Had it gone to a third-party arbitrator, it would have been the first time an appeal was filed following a drug test ordered by the UFC.


However, the UFC later determined that Le’s elevated HGH level alone did not necessarily indicate that he took performance enhancing drugs prior to his matchup with Bisping. Due to a lack of conclusive laboratory results, the promotion lifted Le’s suspension.


The UFC’s full statement on the matter is as follows:


At UFC Fight Night Macao on August 23rd, UFC contracted with an independent drug testing laboratory in Hong Kong to perform urinalysis testing on all fighters on the card. Additionally, UFC requested the laboratory to test blood samples from 4 fighters for human growth hormone (HGH), erythropoietin (EPO) and testosterone.


One of the athletes who had his blood tested was Cung Le. The laboratory results from Le’s blood test were sent to the UFC and showed that his blood had a total HGH level outside the reference range. Based on such results, UFC officials determined that Le had violated his promotional agreement and the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy. Consequently, UFC decided that Le should be suspended from unarmed combat competition for 12 months.


Following the announcement of Le’s suspension, UFC officials have been provided with medical advice regarding the elevated total HGH present in Le’s system. In accordance with such medical advice, UFC has determined that Le’s elevated total HGH by itself does not prove that he took performance-enhancing drugs before the August 23rd bout. As a result, UFC has informed Le that his suspension is rescinded.


Le had requested an appeal of his suspension, and was entitled to arbitrate the drug test results and suspension. However, based on the lack of conclusive laboratory results, UFC officials deemed it appropriate to immediately rescind the suspension without the need for further proceedings.


The UFC organization has always been a leader when it comes to testing for performance-enhancing drugs in combat sports. All UFC athletes know they are subject to drug testing by an applicable state athletic commission, an international governing federation, or by an independent laboratory contracted by the UFC when no regulatory body is overseeing the event. In those cases where regulatory oversight is unavailable, UFC voluntarily chooses to adhere to the highest level of athlete health and safety protocols similar to if the event were being held in the state of Nevada.

[Mr. IWS]

lmao

Not surprisingly, Cung Le is pleased with the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s decision to rescind his year-long suspension after the fighter tested positive for an excess level of HGH following his fight against Michael Bisping on Aug. 23.

The UFC recently issued a release stating that Le’s elevated HGH level alone did not necessarily indicate that he took performance enhancing drugs prior to his loss to Bisping at UFC Fight Night in Macau. The suspension was lifted due to a lack of conclusive laboratory results.


However, Le feels that the Las Vegas-based promotion should go a step further. In a statement released through his management, AMR Group, the middleweight explains that the UFC’s release should have also included an apology. Le claims that the initial ruling cause him to “unfairly endure public scrutiny” and caused both he and his family “great pain.”


It is currently unclear if Le, who is 2-2 in the UFC, plans to return to the Octagon. The entirety of Le’s statement can be viewed below:


“I am extremely happy with the UFC’s decision to rescind my suspension. I believe the issues raised in regards to the testing procedures as well as the manner in which the results were determined by the UFC clearly support my assertion that I did not use any performance enhancing drugs. I am also happy to take away the fact that the UFC has decided to make the proper changes in their testing procedures which will now ensure that no athlete will ever have to endure the same hardship.


While I feel vindicated in this matter, the UFC’s press release does little in the way of an apology of which I believe I am rightly owed after unfairly enduring the public’s scrutiny. Their decision to announce me as a user of performance enhancing drugs with little thought to the accuracy of the testing or proper procedures has caused my family and I great pain; that we have now come to know was completely unnecessary had the proper care been taken to ensure my test results were in fact valid proof of impropriety.


I would like to thank all of the people who supported me throughout this extremely trying time; the people and fans who have always supported me and also the people who reserved judgement until all of the facts of this matter were disclosed. I would also like to thank my MMA Manager Gary Ibarra of the AMR Group and their attorney Steve Pacitti for their tireless work to prove my innocence, my wife and children for standing by me all the way and the multitude of journalists and fans who refused to allow this wrong to go unchecked."


Additionally, Le’s management released a statement on the situation:


The AMR Group is also extremely happy with the UFC’s decision to avoid arbitration and rescind their 12 month suspension of Cung Le. The evidence of my client’s innocence was overwhelming in this instance and the UFC’s decision to forego any further action and exonerate him is proof positive of that. We hope that my client will not now forever be associated with illegal doping especially now that he has been completely cleared of any wrongdoing. Regardless of the UFC’s decision, we are left to wonder if this whole matter should have ever happened at all but we do now know several things for certain: 1) my client did not take any performance enhancing drugs, 2) we questioned the propriety of the testing procedures before the UFC announced their initial suspension; 3) sports doping tests should be left to impartial third party experts, and 4) the UFC should have confirmed and evaluated my client's test results before dispensing discipline and making inaccurate statements that could permanently tarnish Cung's previously pristine reputation.


The absence of a formal apology, in light of the recent “medical advice” the UFC received, which prompted them to lift his suspension, is outrageous. Moreover, the insinuation that my client will not be disciplined due to “the [mere] lack of conclusive laboratory results”, is a clear attempt to deflect responsibility and cloud my client's innocence, when, in fact, the mistakes that were made resulted solely from the UFC's reckless and premature actions and decisions.